Derry City Council, as part of Music City, has announced details of a new and exciting competition for musicians in the Derry and Strabane areas.
Announcing the competition ahead of Record Store Day taking place at Cool Discs this weekend, Mayor Cllr Martin Reilly said the competition, which has been established in partnership with renowned Blast Furnace Studio (Resonate Project) to give local musicians/bands the opportunity to win a three-day recording slot, a professional photo shoot and recorded material on hardback.
He added: “This is a fantastic competition aimed at encouraging original acts across the city and region to showcase their talents, creativity and energy and be in with a chance of securing this fantastic prize.
“The competition is a key element of the Music City 2014 programme and part of our legacy promise to embrace and nurture our city’s unique talent,” he said.
Oonagh McGillion, Legacy Director with Derry City Council, said the Record Store Day event was the perfect showcase to launch the competition.
Praising the event, she said the Council recognised the importance of independent record stores and was very supportive of the efforts of Lee Mason and staff at Cool Discs in promoting all music genres.
“This is the first competition with others well advanced in the planning stage.
“We are delighted that we are able to join with Record Store Day to launch details of the competition and increase our reach to local musicians and bands who will be interested in entering.
“Entrants will be asked to supply links to performance videos (Youtube, Mp3/Mp4 ) and a short biography along with a mission statement about why they prize would benefit them.
“It’s a great opportunity for original acts out there to get support and help them get on the music map. There will be other opportunities coming up in the next few months and our local musical talent should look out for the next competition.”
To enter this first competition all entrants must be from the Derry/Strabane area and be an original act performing their own material.
The closing date for entries is Friday, 16 May next.
